The world is a dangerous place to live; not because the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.

 

Albert Einstein

LIVING IN THE STATUS QUO

Are we good when we let evil thrive?

Turn our backs without despise

Like it's not there, we act surprised

When it's pointed out it has arrived?

We are good it's not our concern?

Windows smashed and buildings burned

Shaking our heads, again we turn

Asking will they ever learn

Who are we to interfere

With evil folks inciting fear?

We've seen them around and often hear

ISIS is their financier

Kids are bullied, that's so sad

Let's hope they stop it, that's too bad

Our kids are good, say mom and dad

Their kids are bullies and yet they brag

Politicians are terribly corrupt

Lie to their minions and round them up

Buy the votes from all the schmucks

Set the country on self destruct

Evil is here, of course we know

Yet we're living in the status quo

Plant the seeds and watch them grow

The evil weeds just wait below

"The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and be greater than our suffering."

THE GOLDEN RECIPE 

If we could create a sunrise

How beautiful that would be

That power would epitomize

An awesome capacity

We know that's not in our power

But it could be to what we aspire

If we'll spend each waking hour

Knowing it's in us to inspire

We need to somehow overcome 

The negativity we have embraced

The faults that within can be undone

Can inspire the human race

We've endured the worst mankind would see

And continue that, we must

We'll overcome the worst of history

And regain a national trust

We can transform our past mistakes

Hold dear our love and passion

Be the betterment that goodness makes

Bring continuity into fashion 

We will learn to handle our suffering

With the changes that are due

And from the woesome gutters spring

Into the best we ever knew

"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from."

T.S. Elliot
1885-1965

ANOTHER NEW YEAR

And so ends the year

Another time to leave behind

And so begins a year

A fresh new state of mind

We can put away the sorrows

Heal from any pain

Carry forward our best tomorrows

Past dwelling, we'll refrain

Each year we are given this day

To renew our thoughts and goals

To continue on the highway

Where we've already paid our tolls

Across the Room

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which is is impossible to be silent."

Victor Hugo

French Author

1802-1885

ACROSS THE ROOM

Baby can't you hear the beat?

Does the rhythm make you dance?

Are the words innocent and sweet?

Do I even have a chance?

I'm too shy to say it

But with the music you might know

It is why I asked they play it

Because it reveals my loving soul

If only you are listening

And our eyes might dare to meet

Are we even worth considering?

Will this song knock you off your feet?

Here I stand across a crowded room

With a flower in my hair

And I've sent to you this sweet love song

And Cupid's arrow is in the air

DroneFingers

Our Song

"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."

Plato

Greek Philosopher

427 BC –347-BC

OUR SONG

He played Sloop John B over the phone

That is how the relationship  began

It was a song we listened to each night

Over and over again

I was just a girl of thirteen

Not allowed to date, no that was wrong

But he was my guy and I was his girl

And we were held together by a phone and a song

With a dream in my mind and a song in my heart

I fell asleep cuddling just a pillow each night

Two teens sharing a song to ignite a spark

We had a melody but were miles apart

Just listening to our tune we did no harm

That became all this little girl and boy had

In spite of the nightly calls and invisible charm

We never even once held hands.

Thank You for What I Have, Today I Shall Not Ask for More

"You pray in your distress and in your need; would you not pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance."

Khalil Gibran

THANK YOU FOR WHAT I HAVE, TODAY I SHALL NOT ASK FOR MORE

As we find ourselves immersed in prayer

Of loss, of pain, of adversity faced

In your search for answers it is only fair

You admit to blessings you have embraced

In someone's shoes you must walk a mile

To realize how you have  been so blessed

Then in prayer we can face our Lord and smile

And let gratitude do the rest

Thank You Lord for all I have

This day I will not ask for more

I'm grateful for each day that I have laughed

And for the future ones in store

Hidden Blessings

"Gratitude is an opener of unlocked blessings."

Marianne Williamson

HIDDEN BLESSINGS

I stand before future's tightly locked door

Wondering what blessing are hidden from me

Knowing that behind it holds what's in store

And gratitude is the only key

Wearing Your Vintage Past

"If you have lived, take thankfully the past."

John Dryden

WEARING YOUR VINTAGE PAST

Who we were in part we be

As today's reflection we now see

Bringing forward the best of   what once we had worn

Leaving behind the ugly and the torn

Vintage garb that made you unique

Past and present gladly meet

The ugliness of then how cast aside

And just its beauty now worn in pride

It is ok to wear your vintage past

And admire it in the looking glass

If it's the best of you from then

In todays fashion you frolic in

Welcome the Fresh and New

"Gratitude is an art of painting adversity into a lovely picture."

KAK SRI

WELCOME THE FRESH AND NEW

Stumps left of once were grand towering trees

Now a barren foreground adds to the sadness of how things once were

But looking past a depressing scene

Is brand new life thriving out there

Young vital nature making its existence known

Is now the art we will all embrace

Thankful now for the new that's grown

Into yesterday's memories with a happy new face

Quotes pertaining to loss

"I've always heard every ending is also a new beginning, we just don't know it at the time, I'd like to believe that's true." -Emily Prentiss

"Loss is a wound, healing takes time. How much time depends on how well you use the memories." M. Beatty

"The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone." -Harriet Beecher Stowe

"If only I had taken the time to express everything he meant to me my grief would not be smothering me so. But in all the world there would never have even been enough time to express what I wanted to say. I only hope my heart and his heart together felt our mutual admiration." M. Beatty

"The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living." -Cicero

"You trusted me with your love. Be assured you can trust me with your memory." M. Beatty

Missing Him on the Special Days

Alphonse de Lamartine 1790-1869

"Sometimes only one person is missing, and the whole world seems depopulated"

MISSING HIM ON THE SPECIAL DAYS

Memorial day was special for him

As he read the paper, the front page news

His smiling picture on the wing of his plane

Brought him to tears about how much time he used

Three weeks later he was gone

Peacefully he passed away

For weeks thereafter folks gathered around

Expressing kindness in the words they'd say

Easter brought memories about how he cherished

Watching the kids dart around our big front yard

Gathering colorful Easter eggs

His joy swelled in his festive heart

On the fourth of July he always mused

About how baby Ryan slept through the colorful show

As fireworks burst loudly in the sky

He made me tape them so later Ryan would know

In August came that special day

Remembering how he held my hand so tight

He wasn't a bit ashamed to cry

As our precious son arrived so healthy and bright

Together we were always on some new mission

I remembered fondly on Labor day

With trailer in tow and horses prepped and groomed

We were usually heading to some horse show far away

The niece and nephews and Ryan of course

Were always a big part of our planned adventures

I had 33 years with Bob by my side

Yes, He was missed dearly this past September

We together always enjoyed Halloween

The kids chose their costumes and grabbed their sacks

Walking door to door we may well have been kids

We had our share of good times and that's a fact!

Now here comes Thanksgiving and he is not here

He always loved a bountiful feast

Though I'm surrounded by loved ones, Bob is still gone

The emptiness strangles me, to say the least

And I look ahead to Christmas coming fast

It will be six months to the day

More holidays will come, this isn't the last

But all the firsts without him are so hard to take

Birthdays and anniversaries

Even ordinary days have something to say

When the memories crop up, sure I smile

But sadness soon follows, it's another lonely day

Seasons in Time

"Life is full of happiness and tears. Be strong and have faith."

Kareen Kaphore Khan

SEASONS IN TIME

Arriving to build condos in the trees

Living, swaying in the smooth spring breeze

The birds have arrived to have their young

It is then a life's new chapter has begun

Children clinging to a string

Of floating kites among the birds that sing

No more hats and gloves for quite some time

Remember when ice cream cones were just a dime?

Schools release the anxious youth

Of summer hours they make good use

Sunny beaches and slippery slides

You won't find the adventurous children inside

Comes the fall and school bells ring

What awesome colors that autumn brings!

The leaves, they fall in silent surrender

Touching the earth so crisp and tender

Children in new duds reclaim their status

After a too short summer hiatus

Football fields glow brightly on Friday nights

New school crushes will soon ignite

Now the winter wind will blow

And coat the earth with soft, white snow

Holidays bring joy to cold winter blues

The bears are smart to hide and snooze

So is life each year we find

Another piece of us left behind

And through the years we are counting down

Tomorrow a loved one won't be around

Seasons come and seasons be

Then go before you can count to three

Life is a carnival, life is a sport

And a good life is always much too short

From Christmas eve 2013

Thinking of my friends on Christmas Eve

Hoping you are happy and warm

Staying tucked in until Christmas day

Out of the cold and winter storms

I pray you will enjoy seeing the children

And generations young and old

Opening gifts well chosen

Given with all the love a heart can hold

The most important thing to remember

Is to send a prayer or two

Thanking Jesus for his sacrifice

And how much He means to you

Then when you are saying your goodbyes

To send the loved one's on their way

Send another prayer to our Lord

For all a safe journey home this Christmas day

From 12/31/13

A heart intruded upon my life

When I realized the importance of you

Never a feeling so strong

Has held me so captive

So it is now that when I say goodbye

And know I may never hold you close again

I break into pieces when I walk away

And a sadness remains a part of me

That I store within that many times lonely heart

Experience

QUOTE

"The difference between school and life? In school you’re taught a lesson and given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson."

Tom Bodett American Author 1955

EXPERIENCE

School seems to me an early temporary fix

Numbers, language, and a smidgen of history

But experience provides us what really sticks

And sheds a light on what's in store for me

In school I was taught and given a test

A lot was short term influence on my memory

Applause or disappointment had done the rest

The facts of life my refinery

I learned from life and know it well

I grew strong experiencing pitfalls and success

And so far in my growth, time will tell

If I merely existed or lived my life for its best

Adversity and Character

QUOTE

"You know what FAILING stands for?... F-A-I-L-I-N-G..... It stands for FINDING AN IMPORTANT LESSON. INVITING NEEDED GROWTH" (Gary Busey)

ADVERSITY AND CHARACTER

Although success is my final goal

I have found failing is what made me whole

I find important lessons more far reaching

With personal experience a part of my teaching

Positive influence I prefer to know

But usually when I stumble I tend to grow

Scars remind me how vulnerable I have been

Adversity in my sails is a very strong wind

Fail once or twice but never again

In each life lesson I hold within

Strong storms at sea make a better sailor

He's known too many hard lessons to become a failure

Hand in Hand

"When the storms of life come, if they come to me personally, to my family or to the world, I want to be strong enough to stand and be a strength to somebody else, be shelter for somebody else."

Anne Graham Lotz American Author/Clergyman 1948 (daughter of Billy Graham)

HAND IN HAND

Dear Lord give me the gift

That I can hold the hand of another

As he dangles over a  deadly cliff

On the great moutain of despair

Lord, let me know the words

That will help to ease his pain

So he can hear the thunder as drums

And be refreshed by the cleanliness of a driving rain

May my presence bring a soothing peace

Until the wounded man may find his own

So that what pain he is feeling soon will cease

Escaping the loss of hope he has come to know

And Dear Lord, once my duty is done

And I have helped a friend to a calmer sea

Please allow that there will be someone

When that wandering lost soul is me

To teach and inspire

"Uninspired teachers breed uninspired minds." M. Beatty

"Try not. Do or do not." -Yoda

"The secret of my influence has always been that it remained secret." -Salvador Dali

"Some look to those who have things worth sharing as being an intruder in their thoughts. It is better to share knowledge secretly, without fanfare with those adverse to learning." Marian  Beatty

"It's often said there's no footprints too small to not make their mark on this world." -Unknown

"At times it was the innocence of a child that caused me to act. It is their well-being that make us become warriors and leaders." M. Beatty

DroneFingers

My Mentor

My Mentor

You have been relevant in what you write.

You inspired me to do the same.

Without your valuable years of insight

Life would have just been another game

Initiative

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."

INITIATIVE

An idle mind can't be condoned

An Idle pen in a hand of stone

Those of us how know should dare

To pen the words we need to share

An idle life with years of knowing

Lying dormant, uninspired, and rarely glowing

So much to be done with so little will

So many empty promises left to fulfill

Too many children with no one to lead them

Craving hope for which they beg and plead then

So few of those who know will care

While silent minds leave treasures there